Al Jazeera condemns Israeli incitement against Gaza reporter Anas al-Sharif

The Israeli military is accused of engaging in a “campaign of incitement,” according to Al Jazeera Media Network, which includes Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Anas al-Sharif.

Al Jazeera said in a statement on Friday that it “strongly condemns and denounces these relentless efforts” that have consistently sparked animosity toward its staff since the start of its coverage of the ongoing Israeli occupation of Gaza.

The Network sees this as a risky defense of the organization’s journalists’ field-to-field targeting.

The statement comes just days after Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee re-shared a video that claimed al-Sharif belongs to Hamas’s military wing, which has been forcefully refuted as false.

Since Israel began its occupation of the Gaza region in October 2023 as part of an effort to discredit their reporting on Israeli abuses, Palestinian journalists in Gaza have been frequently accused of being members of Hamas.

Since its initial bombardment, the Israeli military has killed more than 200 journalists and media professionals, including several Al Jazeera journalists and their families.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the international community to protect him on Thursday and stated that it was “deeply alarmed” by Adraee’s threats against al-Sharif.

The Israeli military has targeted Al-Sharif before, but the danger to his life is now serious, according to CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah in a statement.

In Gaza, Israel has since murdered at least six Al Jazeera journalists. These most recent, unsubstantiated accusations are part of an effort to get Al-Sharif’s permission to murder.

Al Jazeera Media Network claimed in a statement that it was “fully responsible” for the security of its staff in Israel. Additionally, it demanded that all journalists in Gaza be protected by international organizations and governments.

The network claimed that Al Jazeera’s journalists are now even more burdened by Israel’s continued obstructing international journalists’ access to Gaza.